A student, who wishes to remain anonymous, has grown tired of seeing students sag their pants on campus, and has started a petition to prevent students from sagging their pants around campus.
According to thegrio.com, the origin of sagging started in jails, when prisoners sagged their pants when belts were taken away to prevent suicides. It was adopted into gangs, minority and hip hop culture in the mid to late 80s. Although youth adopted this style as a form of rebellion, Officer Victor Vinson told L.A. times in 1988 that anyone who dresses like this is “dressing for death.”
By 2014, sagging is still a trend, but now a majority of people have become tired and are becoming more vocal about what sagging means to them, and what it does for the person who does it.
According to npr.com, Mary Sue Rich, a council member of Ocala, Florida, was able to have a ban enacted where if anyone was caught sagging in the town, they would be fined $500 or even six months of jail time.
Now, the Sinclair student decided to start a petition to stop sagging on campus, after seeing someone sag to the point where his or her genitals were exposed. After asking the person to pull their pants up, the student decided to start the petition.
“Students need to keep a professional conduct while on campus,” said the student. “This style of dressing is not only a turn-off for students, but for people thinking of coming to Sinclair for school and other purposes.”
Within two days, the student had over 225 signatures from other students, faculty and people from professional offices that visit campus for lunch. Sinclair’s H.R. department has reached out to the student to come up with an agreement that does not violate the rights of any students.
“I’m not afraid of backlash because there are probably more people in support of my cause than against it,” said the student. “The student who I made the petition around even signed, but I think he had done it just to mock me.”
When asked what they wanted the offenders to know about why the petition was made, they answered, “I want people to care about how they look, not only in front of other people, but for themselves. I am student and I pay to come here, just like all students attending school here. I did not pay to see someone’s underwear or genitals. We go to school in a professional environment and that look is very unprofessional.”
Jimaur Calhoun
Reporter